In this new effort to bring a product design studio to
the masses in Indianapolis, Ruckus, opening next spring,
lets the public learn about and use technology-based
creative tools under a tiered membership format as a way
to bring the city’s most innovative makers and thinkers
together. Kim, with the help of Thomas Richardson, a
senior in industrial and product design, will be launching
a partnership with Ruckus. Their technology lab within
the makerspace will act as a home for creative tools such as
3D printers, laser cutters, and 3D CNC routers (controlled
by computer) to help community members design and
develop innovative products. He’ll also use the space for
public seminars and workshops to make design more
approachable and accessible to non-design community
members. This initiative has an appropriately aspirational
title: Wonder.

“For these people, it’s just a dream. Their product nevercomes into reality,” says Kim. “A major goal of mine isbuilding a design community. I want design to be exposedto everyday people.”Kim is also working on fostering a design communityin one of the country’s most challenging neighborhoods:Chicago’s South Side. Purdue Industrial Design haspartnered with Loyola University in a new workforce

Using Design to Empower Communities CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10

TJ Kim, associate professor of industrial design, explains the design process to members of the Living Hope Church in Chicago’s South Side. In a new
workforce training effort in partnership with Loyola University, Kim is teaching community members how to design products they can sell. Photo courtesy of TJ Kim.